User reviews

This is a modern musical take on the Christmas classic Dickensian tale, A Christmas Carol starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.

It is well done with neat effects, lavish song and dance numbers aplenty, fresh comedic takes on love at the holidays and full of heart with all things family.

It is as fun as it is endearing.

There is a fascinating twist involving the origin of Ferrell's character and his actual identity in the film and from whence and where he actually came from.

Ryan Reynolds always does what he does best and does it here as well, and that is, basically being Ryan Reynolds. But here he also sings and dances and does both quite well.

My favorite song in this production is, Good Afternoon! This is an entertaining and funny bit as well as a running gag throughput the remainder of the movie which makes it all the more enjoyable.

Are there better movie versions of A Christmas Carol? Yes. Of course.

I love Disney's A Christmas Carol, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Scrooge, and Scrooged.

Are there better movie musicals? Absolutely.

La La Land. Moulin Rouge for starters.

But this is a nice, comedic Christmas musical very much in the holiday spirit and should be experienced as such.

And it should be seen and heard in the theater.

Maybe go to a matinee. Good Afternoon!

There isn't much deep things to say about this movie. It's a new spin on The Christmas Carol, it's a comedy musical and it's incredibly enjoyable.

In my opinion it starts a bit boring but then it really picked up when the story actually started to happen. It brings something original to the iconic Christmas Carol, it's funny and the songs are catchy and fun.

If you're looking to watch something Christmasy and you like musicals this is a must watch. Absolute delight for a family, even though I'm single and I watched it alone in my couch while eating crisps lol.

My only negative opinion is that the humour can be a bit cringy sometimes but that's okay, it made me laugh too! 8/10, I'd definitely recommend. Well maybe not if you don't like musicals and people bursting into songs or Christmas.

First things first-it's Will Ferrel and Ryan Reynolds. Why are so many self-proclaimed movie experts (and Ferrel and zReynolds "super fans") expecting an Oscar-winning movie?! The script was uneven, the singing in many cases not great, the songs were cheesy, and-shockingly-the plot was predictable. Jeez...the original story is going on 200 years old. What so many seem to forget is that the story is about redemption and they did a great job making a campy, happy, silly version. It is fun. I'm very glad I watched it. Time well spent for a classic theme, and I'll probably tech it again this week. And yes, Octavia Spencer is awesome.

I don't like Christmas movies, I don't like musicals, and guess what was the Monday mystery movie... yup, a Christmas musical. So clearly I'm not the target audience, but I try to watch everything so here we are. So many people walked out as this was the Monday mystery movie, it was actually disrespectful. I saw a leak post earlier saying it was going to be spirited so I was a little mentally prepared and actually tried to enjoy it.

Pretty upbeat just like any other Christmas movie. It starts out as a kid's movie, guess most musicals are, but still has some 'dirty' jokes as it goes on. Runtime's way longer than the actual plot was due to the singing. It got a couple good laughs; at times felt more of a comedy than musical. A good blend of Reynolds and Farrells humor, if you're a fan of either you might enjoy it.

Actually could have been more bearable for me if it wasn't a musical, every time I was about to forget it is someone started singing; after a while there's longer periods between the songs, and other moments when songs are squeezed together, mostly at the beginning of the movie and at the end. So there actually wasn't as much singing, you almost forget it's a musical in the middle.

I think the camerawork and production set felt like it was set up on stage so it felt like a theatre play. Songs aren't as catchy, I only recall if two that had me.

The story is pretty predictable on how it's going to end, it's just the journey of getting there. My favorite parts were when the singing was abruptly cut, singing aside its a decent movie. I just want to say you don't have to make a Christmas movie every year, it's almost impressive how they keep churning them out. I don't think this is a terrible addition, but Love, Actually is still the only Christmas movie I actually love.

You hope for a Christmas movie to warm your heart like a cup of hot chocolate with marshmellows by the fireplace on a cold December night, but Spirited was more like entering the mall and hearing a Mariah Carey Christmas song for the 20th time of the season, so that's not so bad.

Will Ferrell & Ryan Reynolds' chemistry is what elevates it above average despite the lively & colorful musical numbers this felt slightly overdone & overcooked. At the end of the day, it made me laugh and made me feel happy. A fun modern twist on the classic story.

Another big positive is the music, for fans of musicals there is a lot to unpack here and surprisingly both Ferrell & Reynolds can hold their own singing and dancing. So I'm not going to be a Grinch here and say I didn't like it, because I did. It's just... a bit much at times.

6.5/10.

Spirited is literally everything I wanted from a Christmas musical and so much more, it is so, so good, I truly adored this Apple TV+ original and anyone who is a fan of musicals should check it out, you'll be treating yourself to an amazing time.

Wow, Ryan Reynolds, I truly cannot get enough of that man, I will watch anything and everything he is in, he puts on a truly brilliant performance in this and his chemistry with Will Ferrell is absolutely unmatched, this film truly takes the viewer on a beautiful journey about redeeming yourself that made me cry inside.

The musical numbers were absolutely spectacular, they were both marvelously choreographed and truly brilliantly hilarious, even though this movie was 2+ hours it somehow managed to just keep me wanting more the entire time.

Spirited gets an A.

The good: The production is well done, with a decent mix of singing and speaking - with one not overstating the other. There's no outstanding musical number but all the songs are serviceable to the plot / characters. Props also for trying to do something different.

The bad: The film's muddled messaging and plot are probably what brought it down mostly for me. The film literally jumps between story and character threads making the film feel aimless and lacking a consistent arc. The movie drags in the third act with inorganic scenes popped from an SNL skit feeling tacked on to each other as the movie jumps to where the plot demands it be. It's also not that funny. You'd think with Ferrell and Reynolds there'd be some comedic gold. But really, it's just a couple of nice-looking rocks scattered throughout the film's 2 hour runtime.

Summary: You can see what the film/musical was trying to do. But the lacklustre singing numbers, excessive runtime and muddled messaging really hinder the film. It is an ok musical which tries hard to be 'spirited' but ends up lacking a soul. I've watched it once, and that's enough for me.

I'm honestly not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. It took me a little bit to get into it as I thought it was just going to be another so-so remake of the overdone "Christmas Carol." When I learned that it was a semi-musical, I was slightly less enthused as I am not a big fan of musicals. In the end, it was just what I needed. It might be just what a lot of people need. It was funny, witty, charming and uplifting with just a touch of adult humor here and there. It is also something that has a relevant message for kids and teens. There were certainly some plot twists that set it apart from the normal run of the mill remake. In the end, it was a great watch. In fact, I might even watch it again.

I've been laid up with a broken leg, so perhaps that may account for a bit of my restlessness, but this movie is flat out way too long! Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds are both great at being Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds in most things. Elf is my favorite Christmas Movie and that's nearly entirely because of Ferrell and the stealth genius of Favreau. (okay, and Bob Newhart and Zooey Deschanel)

This rewarding of celebrities that can carry a tune, by offering them a lead in a musicals should really stop. This really should've been called, "Fa La La Land", as not one lead could hold a note for more than a second, unless it was featured as a party trick and the end of the songs. This gave a sameness to most of the numbers, (although, "Good Afternoon" was a hoot) and showed Reynolds to have pitch but not musical training at all. That goes double for tap numbers, so carefully filmed, in an attempt to obscure that those 3 months of crash-course lessons was a year too short. Oh, and speaking of filming, these musical numbers are easily the most chaotic and random I've ever seen on film. Giant wide shots galore and seemingly not focus on anyone or anything in particular.

I get celebs are needed to bring in the big buck, its what has almost ruined B'way and the Tonys for the past 25 years, but just brining Octavia Spencer in isn't enough. There have got to be big names with big musical talent, and if there aren't..... this could've easily worked better as a shorter, non-musical comedy. Didn't hate it, wouldn't watch it again.

The script was actually a clever take on the Scrooge story, and Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell both did a good job. Sunita Mani was probably the best supporting character (very funny). However, the musical numbers were really difficult to watch. Something about the music and lyrics was really off. In parts where they tried to sound sincere, it sounded corny; in parts where they tried to sound funny, it wasn't working. At just over 2 hours, it felt like an eternity. This shouldn't have been a musical. It would have worked better as a comedy. I recommend you skip it. Or just re-watch any of the great Christmas comedies already out there.

This movie was fantastic! A fresh look at a classic tale led by two hilarious actors. The humor was irreverent and meta, which I loved. It looked and felt fresh.

The dancing and singing was top notch, too (not just the leads, but the whole cast/chorus). It somehow took all the best parts of musicals and yet managed to tease itself about being a pastiche of musicals without being mean. This had to have been written by theater nerds like myself. (Can we talk about the Howard Hill flavor in the Christmas tree number? *swoon*)

And I have to shout out the cast/chorus again. With such big names heading this, they probably don't get the applause they deserve. They were amazing!

The leads were pretty good - honestly way better than I expected (except for Octavia Spencer because I already knew she'd be incredible). I don't think I've heard Ryan Reynolds sing before, so I wasn't sure how it'd go. And Will Ferrell is a comedic genius - when he's in the right film. He can sometimes play the exact same character over and over. Luckily, this film was the right one because it allowed him to show heart, gravitas, silliness, and depth.

The costuming was intensely good. The costumes told a story as much as the writing did. And now I totally want that Santa bomber jacket.

I just finished watching it for the first time and now I'm going to go watch it 30 more times.

Spirited stands out from other adaptations of A Christmas Carol. It puts its own spin on Charles Dickens' classic novella, imagining how things would have continued after that story, as well as how the hauntings were created. However, this movie could have used a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Movie Editing. It's over two hours long, and it felt like they left every joke and dance number in, when they should have trimmed the fat. Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds are a fun pairing, and this musical comedy has its moments, but I doubt it will become a Christmas staple for my family's holiday season.

As many other reviews have said, this just was not written well, it did not have a good flow, and poor character development. This would have been much, much better if it hadn't have been a musical. Most of the music numbers are forgettable, too numerous, and too lenghty. The dancing is great, but over saturated. I love Octavia Spencer, but she seems like an out of place goddess in a sea of mediocrity. Patrick Page is amazing. Rose Byrne is a wonder. As time goes on, Ryan Reynolds (whom I have enjoyed in many movies) is playing the same old sarcastic character he always does. Good for him for making a mint out of it, but it is getting old and tiresome for me. This had a lot of potential given the actors, but it ran amok into old random bits of rehashed parts of every part the two main characters have played forever. I stayed to the end (my husband walked out half way through). Once was enough for me, good afternoon.

Spirited is an incredibly fun and enjoyable Christmas film that will most definitely get you in the Christmas spirit.

Mostly this is because it combines the tried and tested Christmas Carol story (albeit a heavily re-imagined version), the comedy chops of Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, and the feel good vibes of a musical.

The plot does take a little while to find its feet, but once it does you will be fully hooked into the premise and will be sure to enjoy the ride. It's a really fun re-imagining of the story which has been done to death, so it does feel fresh and contains quite a few surprises.

I think the songs are incredibly cheesy but they do work and the dance and musical sequences are all really well constructed and are thoroughly entertaining.

And really what is there to say about the cast? Will Ferrell is one of the finest comedy actors working right now so he is flawless as expected. His back and forth with Ryan Reynolds is brilliant and the two of them are hilarious together.

Top all this off with some lovely Christmas vibes and the result is a film that deserves to be considered a modern Christmas classic!

Wow all I can say is well I thought this film was very awesome and cool And the visuals are very good And will Ferrell And Ryan Reynolds were very awesome together I also think this is a extremely hilarious film and I thought that it was going to go one way but it went a very different direction than I was expecting and There are some great twist and turns in the film that you don't see Coming And this film It's also Very touching and will make you smile It is definitely a comedy film but this film could also Get very serious at times And Some of the one liners Ryan Reynolds what say reminded me of something that deadpool would say!!!

Spirited is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I can watch it multiple times a year and still not get bored of it. I think it would get much more attention if it wasn't on an unpopular streaming service.

The film is a take on The Christmas Carol. There's already many adaptations of this story, but it's not as overdone as the typical Santa Claus movie, and Spirited distinguishes itself by following a new, modern protagonist, in a world where Scrooge's story was just one of many redemptions by the Christmas ghosts.

The story is gripping, and sends a realistic message about what it really means to be a good person. The characters are fleshed out and develop throughout the movie. Some of the jokes are cringy, but the ones that land are often hilarious. The plot manages to be unexpected despite its inspiration, and contains a few twists that help to further the story and don't feel like cheap shock value.

The movie is a musical, and the songs are a highlight. Neither of the leads are skilled singers, and this is noticeable at times (more so with Will), but the movie makes it work, and the rest of the cast does a stellar job. The set design and choreography is what makes the songs really incredible. Each one goes all-out visually, with spectacle rivaling that of stage musicals. At times, the talent of the dancers left me speechless.

If you don't like musicals, you won't like this movie, but if you are a fan of musicals, you'll be sure to love it. I recommend giving it a watch if you're interested and have access to Apple TV+. The cast and crew went to great efforts to make this movie great, and it deserves some recognition.

It's the most wonderful time of the year and here comes a new player in the battle of screen time during your holiday movie watching. Spirited was a fun retelling of the classic story "A Christmas Carol" with a little bit of a twist. I would sat that the music and the effects they used in the movie were the best parts of this movie for me. Of course, the chemistry between Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds was very fun to watch. The two of them are very upbeat and seem to be the best at improvisation and I began to wonder if certain scenes were a battle of who can be funnier.

If you are on the fence about watching this movie, watch it. Grab some popcorn and your loved ones and watch an entertaining Christmas movie, after you rewatch The Santa Clause, Home Alone, and Jim Carey's How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Not perfect but highly entertaining - I could watch Ryan and Will banter all day. Background dancers were amazing and the singing from the leads was decent, particularly Octavia and Ryan. Will struggled with the singing the most and had the most solos but it was easy to give him a pass because he embraces his character so well. The singing is still less annoying than the live singing in Cats. This doesn't have the memorable music of The Greatest Showman but the first big number will stick in your head. Definitely a feel good Christmas movie with an original take on the classic story.

Music C+ Dancing A+ Sets A+ Story B+

The premise is fantastic. It owes a lot to Scrooged and Golden Era screwball comedies. It is quite smart and funny. The singing, dancing and acting is competent. And the direction of the musical numbers is innovative.

But that is the main issue, it is over-the-top with too many sound-alikes tunes that it just didn't need. And the typically super-positive P&P songbook is cloyingly annoying and, at this point, downright passé. Yes, the movie was supposed to be a feel-good affair but cramming this amount of ridiculous optimism into it pushes the story into Hallmark territory. Oddly, most of the songs seemed like knock-offs of Rachel Bloom without the irony, cynicism and wit.

Oh, and despite the plot being all over the place, it is also kinda predictable.

The Buddy joke was great. I think I will go watch that movie to refresh my memory of how a great modern Xmas film should go.

This was great fun.

It is over the top, corny, sickly sweet and full of niceness.

My take is that the musical pieces are over the top on purpose - as alluded to by several characters. It is meant to be cheesy. Its meant to be self aware and mocking the genre.

There are references to lots of other movies and musicals all over the place, but if I had to classify it I'd say its part traditional scrooge, part scrooged (the Bill Murray movie) and part greatest showman (so much so I was expecting Jackman to make an appearance).

Its very meta in places. Its self referential.

The songs are funny and over the top.

The three leads are fantastic.

The whole thing is played with much gusto.

And this is coming from someone who loathes musicals.

Its also very funny. Ferrell was born to play the role he is playing here. Reynolds is close to the type of character he is known best for - but it works well (thats not a criticism - I think he is very well cast). Spencer is perfect - bringing some heart to proceedings.

Don't take it too seriously - its fun.

Ok. It's all over the place but the reworking and twisting of the oft-filmed classic is a lot of fun and Reynolds and Ferrell you get exactly what you expect. The songs are not especially memorable but the musical set pieces are fun and the lyrics very clever, in fact the script keeps things fizzing all the way the through. It's hard to get grumpy about a film like this as it's so good natured and you really would have to be Scrooge or a film critic not to enjoy it. Some of the cast, especially Octavia Spencer are underused but families will enjoy their night on the sofa watching this. The ending was a nice surprise.

Could not make it through this bloated misfire of a Christmas movie. This felt like it was made in a laboratory to construct a tiresome, conspicuously inclusive Xmas movie, and in doing so it's devoid of any humanity, heart or soul. Its theatrics reminds me of the Cats movie. Trying too hard and knowing too little about what makes a good festive film. And a terrible waste of some very talent actors. I also don't think the creators knew what they wanted to do with this movie. Frequent out-of-place foul language means it's definitely not gonna be seen as a family film, and yet, it is filled with childish moments. Ultimately, there are a few great songs and amazing/ inventive dance sequences.

Honestly the fact that this movie is a musical is its biggest flaw because of how it treats the musical formula. The original song in the afterlife or whatever has several characters being confused, and it's implied musicals aren't a thing in the real world. However that is immediately after contracting it by Ryan Reynolds singing a song. I feel that having the most cynical character in the movie sing right after it's addressed that it's odd really clashes. I think having his character refrain from it and having another character sing a villain song while he acts all exasperated would be better. Also later in the movie Will Ferrell sings a song in front of him, and having him make some annoyed remarks would work well. And then at the end of the movie with his redemption and the redemption of the villain song would work, by having him sing for the first time. Granted it still works in the movie I guess, but I think it would be better if they had another character sing it with him using dialogue in between song lines, and then at the end he says and sings those lines but differently and in a good way, as a redemption of the song. As is it still really works, but the way it handled the musical formula felt a little underdone and could have used some work. Other than that it's pretty solid, funny jokes, good characters, and I'm not opposed to the musical format of this movie just that they handled parts of it poorly. But the parts that they handled well, holy cow! Choreography is really great, songs are catchy, and they serve the musical format well. Also there's a callback to Elf. I like that. Overall a solid movie, could be better in some ways but definitely one worth watching, and again even if the musical part of it could be improved, the good musical parts were kinda fantastic.

What made me interested in this movie was that it was taking the story A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, and doing something different with it by making the characters aware of the story and getting to see how the spirits do their job; after watching this movie, I had a fun time with it. The Christmas movie Spirited (2022) was a fun time with catchy songs, a nice Christmas feel to it, and Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell are great together; the movie takes what you know about the famous story, A Christmas Carol, and shows you what it is like behind the scenes with the spirits, which is done in a cool way.

Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds are both great in the movie, with them both being equally funny; I did like Will Ferrell as the ghost of Christmas present who wants redeem people and at some point, settle down with someone when he chooses to retire, which is why I liked how he does his job and trying to deal with certain problems involving his past or Clint Briggs trying to know more about him and what he wants. Ryan Reynolds as Clint Briggs has done things that effects his family or the company he runs, but as the movie goes on you see why he did these things and that he had a difficult past; his performance leads him to be very funny, but also gives heartwarming scenes if needed. Also, Octavia Spencer was incredibly good in both her performance and when she is doing a musical number, plus you understand her character and what she goes through working for someone who does not make good choices during the Christmas season.

I like the idea that the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future did not just redeem one person, like in the story, but they help redeem other people who are jerks throughout the years during the Christmas season; plus, what happens to a spirit when it retires and how they turn into spirits I found interesting, along with seeing them putting memories together for a specific person for their job. The songs were catchy with well-done dance choreography; there was also nice cinematography in multiple scenes in the movie that looked pretty, and the effects were also not bad, especially with some use of a green screen.

Spirited (2022) is that bad of a movie to watch around the holidays; the movie has a great comedy and singing performances from Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, catchy songs that are nice to listen to, and a nice fun Christmas feel; along with some touching heartfelt moments. If you want a Christmas musical to watch, and you like actors Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, then you enjoy this movie; this is not going to become a Christmas classic or anything, but it will be entertaining and a fun movie that people should have at least given a shot.